With advances in processing capabilities and programming technologies, software defined mobile wireless communications devices (e.g., radios) continue to increase in popularity. Rather than relying upon hardware and circuitry components to perform frequency, modulation, bandwidth, security, and/or waveform functions, these functions are instead performed by software modules or components in a software radio. That is, with a software radio analog signals are converted into the digital domain where the above-noted functions are performed using digital signal processing based upon software modules.
Because most of the functions of the radio are controlled by software, software radios may typically be implemented with relatively standard processor and hardware components. This may not only reduce device hardware costs, but it also provides greater flexibility in upgrading the device since new communications waveform modules can be uploaded to the device relatively easily and without the need to interchange new hardware components.
One particular class of software radios which takes advantage of the above-described advantages is the Joint Tactical Radio (JTR). The JTR includes relatively standard radio and processing hardware along with the appropriate waveform software modules for the communication waveforms the radio will utilize. JTRs also utilize operating system software that conforms with the Software Communications Architecture (SCA). The SCA is an open architecture framework that specifies how hardware and software components are to interoperate so that different manufacturers and developers can readily integrate their respective components into a single device.
Still another class of mobile wireless communications devices that increasingly use software components for communicating via different waveforms or standards is cellular communication devices. That is, many cellular devices are now designed to operate with more than one of the numerous cellular standards that are used throughout the world, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Personal Communications Services (PCS), for example.
Despite the numerous advantages of software radios, one challenge presented by such devices is that the various software modules used for different waveforms can be relatively large. While non-volatile memories such as flash memories allow relatively large amounts of data to be stored in mobile devices, such data needs to be executed from random access memory (RAM), which is more expensive and, therefore, of limited availability on most devices. Yet, many radios are required to switch between waveforms relatively quickly, and the delay time associated with reading and writing waveform modules out of the flash memory and into RAM may be problematic in this regard.
Various approaches have been developed in the prior art to streamline data transfer operations. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,393 to Sutter, Jr. This patent is directed to method for compressing information for use in an embedded system. A program file or other type of information file is partially compressed in a host device and subsequently transferred to a non-volatile memory of the embedded system. The uncompressed portion of the file includes relocation data such as section headers or a file header which identify one or more destination locations for corresponding parts of the file in a random access memory of the embedded system. A loading program running on the embedded system determines a destination location for the file within the embedded system without decompressing the compressed portion of the file. The method is intended to reduce the need for multiple file copy operations in transferring data between the non-volatile memory and RAM in the embedded system.
Despite the benefits of such approaches, further improvements and functionality may be desirable for managing file transfer and processing operations in mobile wireless communications devices.